The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP National Education Union Prime Minister Hamilton House Mabledon Place 10 Downing Street London WC1H 9BD London 0345 811 8111 SW1A 2AA neu.org.uk Tuesday 13 July 2021 Dear Prime Minister, CC: Chancellor and Education Secretary We write to you today because we believe action to counter food insecurity for children is urgent and can't wait. There are 1.7 million children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) in England. Over half a million of those became eligible for FSM between March and December 2020 as the economic impact of Covid-19 took effect. Food insecurity is a part of everyday life for many children eligible for FSM, and for those growing up in poverty in the UK, this bites particularly hard during periods of school closure. The public have made their support for ensuring children receive FSM in the holidays really clear. More than one million people signed Marcus Rashford’s petition last year calling on Government to expand eligibility and access to Free School Meals. Over the course of the pandemic the Government sensibly acknowledged the shocking reality of holiday hunger by expanding the FSM voucher scheme to include the Easter and summer holidays in 2020, as well as the week of the May half-term. And while the expansion of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme is welcomed, it has limitations. Local authorities are only able to provide support to families for four days a week, across four weeks of the holiday, which is equivalent to 16 out of 30 weekdays. We urge the Government to re-introduce the scheme implemented during previous school holidays, in which families were allocated £15 per child every week, to cover the entirety of the upcoming six-week summer break. Come September, many children will come back to school hungry, malnourished and unable to concentrate. The Government has pledged to ensure that students from disadvantaged backgrounds aren't left behind - but a lack of regular, dependable nutritious meals has a huge impact on learning and engagement when children and young people return to school. Government must act now – before the end of term – to confirm the direct funding for provision of the Free School Meals voucher scheme for eligible children over the summer holidays, to leave no child behind. School leaders need clarity as soon as possible. Yours, Dr Mary Bousted & Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretaries, National Education Union Cosigned by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Emma Lewell-Buck MP John Tizard Green Party Labour, South Shields Director, Taxpayers Against Poverty Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb Stella Creasy MP Green Party Labour and Cooperative, James Toop Walthamstow CEO, Bite Back 2030 Lord Blunkett Labour Emma Hardy MP Debs McCahon Labour, Hull West and Hessle Chief Executive, Woodcraft Folk Lord Hendy QC Labour Jane Malcolm Sally Bunday MBE CEO, Level Trust Director, Hyperactive Children's Lord Knight of Weymouth Support Group Labour Andy Elvin CEO, TACT Fostering Kate Bell Kim Johnson MP Head of Rights, International, Labour, Liverpool Riverside Claire Donovan Social and Economics, TUC Head of Policy, Research & Apsana Begum MP Campaigns, End Furniture Poverty Dr. Maria Bryant Labour, Poplar and Limehouse Chair, Association for the Study Paddy Lillis, of Obesity Dan Carden MP General Secretary, USDAW Labour, Liverpool Walton Celine McStravick Thomas Lawson Maria Eagle MP Strategic Director, National Chief Executive, Turn2us Children's Bureau Labour, Garston and Halewood Fiona Ellwood Jill Attenborough Caroline Lucas MP Society of British Dental Nurses CEO, County Trust Green, Brighton Pavillion Thomas Croft & Diana Skelton Joe Howes Clive Lewis MP National Coordination Team, ATD CEO, Buttle UK Labour, Norwich South Fourth World Victoria Benson Kate Osborne MP Jon Richards Chief Executive, Gingerbread Labour, Jarrow Assistant General Secretary, UNISON Dan Paskins Mick Whitley MP Christina Marriott, Director of UK Impact, Save The Labour, Birkenhead CEO, Royal Society for Public Health Children UK Diane Abbott MP Anela Anwar Deborah Lawson Labour, Hackney North and Chief Executive, Z2K Assistant General Secretary Stoke Newington Eddie Crouch, Chair (Voice section), Community Trade Union Daisy Cooper MP British Dental Association Liberal Democrat, St Albans.